15strangers | F̀I҉̵N̶ÁL͘ ̵̧̀WE҉̧̀E͞K̷̨

I guess I won't. I'll just have to stay away from the dressing room instead.

Raph, not Ralph. She had a long name, I just say that for short. Anyway, she was just another Titled who didn't want to investigate. I got stuck with it until Rubedo took over.

For now.

[ ... ]

You had to get stuck with grabbing someone's bones from burned bodies until someone else stepped up?

[ Because wow. Not that he could talk much about laziness. ]

I think she wanted to go back to the other body... double murder.

[it's sad they've had so many double murders this just sounds kinda rote.]

[ Normal murder never bothered McBurn much, though murder in a murdergame now was something he'd file under troublesome events. Three games of murdergames had accomplished that much, even if it felt routine. ]

...Sounds like just a pain. [ ... ] This all better be the last time any of us are involved in something like this.

..... If anyone tries again, I'm not saving them.

Wouldn't be worth it.

[ ... ]

The annoying stuff aside, I'm wondering what the final confrontation will be like.

[ Hopefully a big fight instead of mindgames. ]

[Final... confrontation.... Eric looks exhausted. Fighting anything to do with the people in charge is a lot more terrifying after what just happened. But... he'll try.]

Beats me. We haven't found enough about how to kill IT... maybe the best we can hope to do is get out of here in one piece.

But there's still that Snachel bitch we keep hearing about. We don't know anything about her motivations... maybe she's just using IT and getting rid of her will fix everything. We should've gotten more out of the dead.

We'll have to deal with that thing sooner or later.

[ As far as he was concerned, anyway. ]

Kinda remember her being mentioned in one of those meetings, but whatever's been told didn't really stick besides the fact that she's an enemy.

If she's in league with that thing, we'll have to make sure to get rid of them both.

[ Honestly, at some point during the last meeting, things got really too bothersomeworthy for him to continue paying attention other than the fact that apparently the amount of enemies kept possibly going up (?) But, it's fine, there's nine of them...they'll either figure something out or they die. ]

I honestly don't have a fucking clue. But there's gotta be some reason why they both keep coming up. The clothes Lala found in the empty house sound they're like hers, too. Wouldn't be the first time someone was hanging out invisible in one of these games.

We never had anyone 'invisible' hanging around in our games on the Eventide and Vespertine.

[ But he wouldn't be surprised something troublesome like that could happen in this situation. ]

The shit to make the invisibility potions they used in the Depths is already here. I could do it myself.

[disappearing might not be a bad idea though.]

...Maybe I should...

[ Well, he had a few ideas on what Eric could be thinking of using it for. ]

Planning on using the invisibility potion to have the advantage when there's another battle?

Maybe... I'm not overconfident in their ability for that, since all it took was some flour to beat it.

Fie was carrying it around to make dust explosions with. That kid is insane. [He says this fondly]

That ex-jaegar kid was in one of these games?

[ Then again Vita's fellow witch was apparently in one as well, so he's not all that surprised. It's interesting to know more people from the world he'd been in had been in more of these murdergames, though. ]

Any other members of Ouroboros you happened to see around?

[ Just out of some actual curiosity. ]

Not unless you count the other McBurn. He did mention he's a member of Ouroboros, and someone he calls Abyss. I never really knew what sorta organization all of that was... but I assumed it had something to do with fighting, since I also got his ... uh... that jeweled watch thingy that lets him do magic.

[It's been three years, he definitely doesn't remember what an Orbment is called.]

"Abyss" was just another name for the "Azure Abyss"—consider it Vita's title in the organization. You can think Ouroboros as one of those underground organization hardly anyone knows about, but you're not wrong that we see a good amount of action. Enforcers like myself particularly.

...Guessing also by 'jeweled watch' you're talking about a combat orbment.

[ In fact, he'll take it out, showing Eric. He got it awhile back, so you know. ]

[Underground organization.... Eric is so far post canon he is now automatically placing Ouroboros onto a pendulum in his mind that swings between Crash Keys and Free the Soul. Which one are they more like, he wonders. Although really he has no love for either.

Seeing something so obviously esoteric kind of brings back whatever urge it was compelling him to destroy boots. His nose wrinkles at it, but he does recognize it.]

Yeah, that's it alright.

[...Maybe it's kind of interesting that the warriors of their world use this technology as naturally as any other weapon, but it's still weird.]

... What the hell do you enforce, anyway? You don't look like someone who cares about rules at all.

[ What an absolutely lovely set of comparisons. ]

We help carry out whatever plans are drawn up in the organization. Said plans are crafted by the Anguis—the Abyss was actually one of them too.

[ Of course Eric would now know who he's referring to when he just gave the nickname. ]

Our part in all of that obviously helps with the goals of our leader as a whole. Not really someone who 'enforces' rules, but more us 'enforcing the success of those plans'...or something like that. Mostly there because it just so happens to get me in the line of fire more often than not.

[ So his priorities were really just fighting!! And more fighting. Which was probably like not even a surprise at all. ]

[He processes this, and it all seems to make sense. It's a rather obtuse definition of enforcing - the word you are looking for is executive, you stupid edgelords. But it sounds very much like the type of thing he'd be into. Although the last thing he says just kind of sparks his interest in why he even values fights in the first place.]

McBurn, I've been wondering this for a while.... Are you some kind of masochist?

It must've been troubling you pretty badly if the idea bothered you for so long.

[ This was the first answer Eric netted because yeah, he was kind of amused. ]

Couldn't say I mind when someone is able to actually land some serious hurt on me, since there's nothing like a real challenge to make you feel alive.

Either way, I want to find someone well worth my time. Being in Ouroboros is the best way to achieve that.

[Eric's hands fly to his cheeks as he's startled by the joke, then he drags them down his face, getting a sort of grouchy look and muttering.] T... The fuck are you implying...

[Don't flirt with him!! It's not like he wants the idea to bother him!! The finger tips are still touching his jaw while he listens to the rest with increasingly widening eyes.]

So in other words, I got the nail on the head. Yeesh...

[this aimless yet dangerous search for feeling in some other, unknown person he's talking about is so familiar, but without the ability to care about it, the thought doesn't quite connect.]

...Well, good luck with that.

[ Anyone managing to get that far would be a miracle in of itself. Though, maybe not so much where this place was concerned.

Eric's reaction was a little more than he expected. He always seemed to be around brunets (or brunettes) who were interesting to interact with. He'd hardly be ready to thank the situation for making him meet someone who he didn't mind talking to, though. ]

Can leave that up to you to figure that out.

[ As usual, McBurn cared little about what people thought of him for the most part, but flustering Eric was nice. ]

I'll take it. [ The well wishing. Because what was saying thank you like a normal person. ] Been awhile since the last person after all, but couldn't say the universe wasn't a big place. It's only a matter of time.

[There are many factors in play for this reaction. 1, McBurn is always nice to Eric, a fact he's been acutely aware of the whole time due to the contrast in duplicates. 2, he is not USED to people being nice to him, mostly because he's a wimp! 3, he hasn't forgotten being 'rescued' and the care taken left an impression. 4, having Mira forced out of his heart and mind leaves a pretty desperate void. 5, he reminds him of her, even if said force doesn't allow him to realize it. .........and while five ought to be enough reasons, let us not overlook the sheer power of receiving a hint of attention from someone that hot!! In summation, what McBurn just said right now has rendered him deceased. He is just going to stay silent and bury his face in his hands more thoroughly this time. Too bad the blush reached his ears.......................Right. They were talking about fighting.]

D-Does it have to be a person, though? If you just want to fight something tough, why not make it a big monster or something?

[is this actually a search for human connection, or are the superhumans just that big of a deal...?]

[ Maybe it's not something he thought too hard about, in regards to how he treated Eric. The brunet wasn't even the most capable fighter around here, but there's something to be respected about hard work (something about brunet/brunettes and hard workers, man.) Especially since when those trials, his own life was at risk. Three times.

Eric was like some weirdly resilient cowardly Lion. A different strength than fight; ultimately of will. And a strength was strength.

Either way, he's watching Eric kind of just bury his face in his hands, and the red that touched his ears with amusement. ]

Can't have a drink or banter with most big monsters.

[ ... Because that's important clearly. Honestly, McBurn didn't really care, as long as it gave him the fight of his life. But, generally, if it was a big monster, he'd probably end up killing it?? Whereas if it was a person, probably not. ]

[Did Vita make him watch The Wizard of Oz too... incredible. Well, if resilience is a strength, he's got it. Eric's carried on through a lot of things that hurt. Now that the light of his angel has been concealed, there's really nothing left in his mind that doesn't hurt, but he's still smiling. Not that McBurn can currently see it behind his hands, but he's lowering them now, crossing his arms. He liked that answer.]

If... we get out of here, I bet I could make something that wouldn't bore you. I have the power of a god to create anything I want in my universe... did I ever mention that?

[he has definitely yelled it at clouds when it came to motives people could have asked him for but it really is something he could have bragged about more. to look cool. to his friend]

F̀I҉̵N̶ÁL͘ ̵̧̀WE҉̧̀E͞K̷̨

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